“Aww!” Elaine mumbled after they all said their apologies and continued on their ways.

John glanced back towards the couple and the back to his wife.

“Those sorts of people have no manners!” he complained, rubbing his shoulder in mock injury.

“Now John let’s not start on that again!”

Elaine shook her head. John’s homophobia had gotten worse as he’d aged and now, he was almost unbearable, she knew she’d be in for an earful for at least the next day or two.

“Well, they shouldn’t be allowed on cruises with civilised people, they should stick to their own kind!” He complained loudly.

“Why’s a girl that pretty want to be one of them fags anyway?” he asked, nudging his wife in the ribs. “She could have any man she wanted.”

Grabbing his elbow, Elaine dragged him around the corner. “I’m only going to explain this once more….”

-/-

Maura sighed happily. The last few hours had felt like ‘Before’ a time when Jane would taunt her lovingly. Before was when Jane had been a detective, investigating the deaths while Maura had ‘sliced and diced’ as Jane had put it. They were superheroes almost, a crime fighting duo unrivalled by any other.
They’d been carefree almost, the tension that had settled within their relationship had been blown away on the sea breeze and they’d fallen into an easy banter, getting to know each other once again.
It had been exhausting and Jane had suggested getting a beer and exploring the facilities before dinner.

Maura felt the familiar knot form in her stomach. She wanted to hang out in the sauna, relax and wash away the spikey remnants of the day, hoping to continue with the fresh exuberance of her partner. To her surprise, Jane had agreed that she should. They had a month to rebond; trying to do it all on the first day was silly, even by Jane’s gung-ho reasoning.
Walking with her to the sauna, Jane had kissed her forehead gently before skipping off into the ship, leaving Maura to watch her leave.

“Good evening ma’am, my name is Lucy, if there’s anything, and I mean anything you need, you feel free to call me.” An attractive brunette smiled at her warmly.